Rolling Out Openlaw

1
Introduction
Rolling Out Openlaw
This guide is intended for those who already have
Openlaw or are considering using it. The focus is
on Openlaws primary purpose which is listing
documents in litigation And displaying images of
them. There are other guides, including An
Introduction to Openlaw which shows the
main functions and Openlaw Data Profiles which
identifies the kinds of data which can be
held. This guide is concerned with the practical
and technical aspects of using Openlaw, whether
for a single Case or for site-wide use. It also
addresses some of the questions which may be
asked by users and clients.
If you want further information, please
contact Richard Brockbank richard.brockbank_at_oxfo
rdlaw.co.uk Oxford Law and Computing
Limited Tatham House, Northcourt Lane, Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, England OX14 1PN Tel [phone]
9890 or see our web sites at www.oxfordlaw.co.uk
and www.openlaw.co.uk
2
Primary Functions
Rolling Out Openlaw

• Openlaw has simple primary functions
• to hold primary Disclosure information about
  documents
• to display pictures of the documents
• to allow documents to be classified and sorted
• to print lists and bundles
• It has many more sophisticated functions
• A very large amount of data can be stored in it
• It comes in several variants
• There are Add-Ons to do particular tasks
• You can import and export data and exchange it
  with others
• But its primary function is listing documents
  simply and efficiently

3
Start Small
Rolling Out Openlaw
However simple the approach, there are
necessarily things to learn when making the
transition from a word-processed list to an
image-enabled database. This is not just a
matter of using basic functions like adding an
Item or making a search or printing a List, but
how to exploit the tools to work more efficiently.
Think of it as being like learning seamanship
you start with a small sailing boat and get to
know the ropes and the basics of navigation.
For many, the first introduction to electronic
document handling comes with the biggest case
they have ever had the use of a system must be
learnt in parallel with getting to grips with the
Case itself. This is like learning seamanship on
an ocean-going ship.
If, however, you do have a large case and are new
to litigation support software, we can help in
several ways. We can provide staff on-site,
supporting services, advice on how to tackle the
project, advice on how to deal with the other
parties (what can you ask for, what can you do
with it, what should you give them), consultancy
and introductions to bureaux.
4
Openlaw Basics
Rolling Out Openlaw

• What is the minimum you need to know to add
  Items and show Images in Openlaw?
• What does a Case consist of?
• What kinds of data might go in to the Case?
• Who should get the data in?
• How do you add an Item?
• How can you find a Selection of Items and save
  them as a Bundle for re-use later?
• How do you print a Bundle as a List of selected
  Items in date order?
• How do you scan and see an Image?
• You use the Item cards to hold data you search
  the data to find cards.
• Each document links to its own card. Find the
  cards and youve got the documents.

5
Item Card and Image
The image is displayed beside the Item card. This
can be any file type which the computer knows how
to display
All the information stored about a document or
other Item Is displayed on a tabbed card
6
Getting Data in
Rolling Out Openlaw

• There are two main components
• Profile Data Description, Names, Date etc
  about a document or other item (e.g. event)
• Documents - A scanned Image or other electronic
  file a representation of the document itself

• The source document material may be
• Just paper
• Must be scanned
• Already in electronic form
• Databases supplied by client or opponents
• Mail files
• WP, spreadsheets etc
• Images capable of conversion to .tiff or
  .pdf
• Images which can be OCRd to extract the
  text
• If it does not exist already electronically, the
  profile data must be typed
• As it would have to be anyway for a WP list

Always ask if documents data already exists
in electronic form
7
Who does the work?
Rolling Out Openlaw

• In House
• People to enter profile information into data
  fields
• a scanner
• a methodology
• Labour costs
• Hardware and Software costs
• Keep control of the work (and the fees)
• Pre-estimates difficult
• Bureau
• Quotation in advance
• Fixed time-scales
• Disbursement cost
• Fewer standing costs
• Run more jobs in parallel
• What is best for you?

8
Add an Item
Rolling Out Openlaw
What exactly is involved in adding Items yourself?
How does it compare with adding an entry in a WP
list?
Assuming the time and effort is equal, what
greater value lies in the database entry as
against the row in the WP list?
Start by pressing ltAddgt from the bottom of the
Grid View
9
Add an Item 1
Rolling Out Openlaw
Click the down arrow to see a list of Names
Type an Item Description or pick it from a list
and pick the Senders name
The full description of the Item starts to build
up
10
Add an Item 2
Rolling Out Openlaw
This was a new Name and so was not on the
pick-list. Just type it in
A process called Parsing will break the name into
its components and add it to the pick-lists
The Full Description concatenates the
Description, Sender and Recipient
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Add an Item 3
Rolling Out Openlaw
Click this and the next new Item will have the
same data as this one
Pick a Date from the calendar or type it in
Pick an Index No (e.g. a File Code) from a list
or type in a new one
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Add an Item 4
Rolling Out Openlaw
Click In List if it goes in the draft List. Click
Priv if Privileged. Click Review if you want to
come back to it.
Press ltSavegt to store this Item and then add the
next
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Add an Item 5
Rolling Out Openlaw
The new Item now appears as a row in the Grid
Press ltAddgt to add another Item or Tab View to
see the Item Card
14
Add an Item 6
Rolling Out Openlaw
The new Item has acquired the next Item - No 28
A more senior user might now go through and
review the Item.
.and add more detailed subjective coding
The Full Description as it will appear in printed
lists
or a junior may add objective information
but only if the Case warrants it, and perhaps
not until much later if the Case runs beyond
Disclosure
There is a companion guide called Openlaw Data
Profiles which takes you through the different
kinds of information which may be held on the
tabs and in pick-lists
15
Finding Items
Rolling Out Openlaw
Search for all Items where the field In List has
been ticked
Select Date Order
16
Printing a List
Rolling Out Openlaw
Two clicks from our search and we are ready to
print
This is the newly-added Item
17
Scan a Document
Rolling Out Openlaw
This is clearly not practicable for large
quantities of documents
Scan a document and save it in the Images
directory as 28.tif and the new Item 28 will
display it
18
Scan 1,000 Documents
Rolling Out Openlaw
Print 1,000 bar code pages using the bar-code
printer shown here. The bar-code pages include
the number which the image is to have when
saved. These might be the numbers of an actual
set of existing Item Cards or may simply be Next
Number. Print bar-code sheets with instructions
such As Mark the next Item as privileged Drop
the pages, interleaved with the bar-code pages,
into the scanner. Bar-Code Reader software then
processes the image file. It saves one image file
per document and changes the database following
instructions on the bar-code sheets. You end up
with images that are uniquely linked to either
existing completed Item Cards or to blank Item
Cards waiting to be profiled.
19
What is a Case?
Rolling Out Openlaw

• Standard install routine on each PC. Can be
  shared by a team over a network. Can be run over
  the web.
• Each Case is free-standing and can be copied
  entire to any PC (or laptop)

Add-Ons are mainly optional
Case Manager verifies Case integrity,
controls access rights and calls the Add-Ons
Default location for images
Context-sensitive Help file press F1 to see a
page about the current screen
The main executable file for this Case
The licence file controls what functions are
available
Reports can be customised for a site or a Case
The data sits in these files
Standard Report files
(For the technically minded)
20
Summary
Rolling Out Openlaw
Use Openlaw for the occasional big Case or Gear
up fee-earners and IT for firm-wide use
Use its own functions to scan and code in
house or Send the work out to a bureau
Use it for simple listing as an alternative to
WP or Call on its deeper functions and Add-Ons
where needed
If you want further information, please
contact Richard Brockbank richard.brockbank_at_oxfo
rdlaw.co.uk Oxford Law and Computing
Limited Tatham House, Northcourt Lane, Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, England OX14 1PN Tel [phone]
9890 or see our web sites at www.oxfordlaw.co.uk
and www.openlaw.co.uk